ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>CENTRAL SIKH LEAGUE</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="CENTRAL,SIKH,LEAGUE"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279CENTRAL SIKH LEAGUE, political organization of the Sikhs which guided their affairs until the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal emerged as a mass force. The inaugural session of the Central Sikh League was held at Amritsar on 29 December 1919, coinciding with the annual sessions of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. It was dominated by the educated Sikhs from the middle strata such as Sard&#363l Si&#7749gh Caveeshar, Harchand Si&#7749gh Ly&#257llpur&#299 and Master Sundar Si&#7749gh Ly&#257llpur&#299. The first president was Sard&#257r Bah&#257dur Gajjan Si&#7749gh representing moderate political opinion. But the leadership soon changed and B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh, an ardent nationalist, was elected president for its second session at Lahore in October 1920.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The aims and objects of the Central Sikh League, according to its new constitution adopted on 22 July 1921, were the attainment of <i>svar&#257j</i>, i. e. political autonomy for the country, by legitimate, peaceful and constitutional means and the promotion of Panthic unity, the fostering of patriotism and public spirit among the Sikhs and the development and organization of their political, moral and economic resources. Membership was open to Sikhs who had attained the age of 21 years and the fee was four <i>&#257nn&#257s</i> per month. The executive committee of the League consisted of 101 members, exclusive of ex-officio members, 80 of whom were elected and 21 nominated. By August 1921, units of the Central Sikh League had been set up at Amritsar, Lahore, Gujr&#257&#7749w&#257l&#257, Ly&#257llpur, Si&#257lko&#7789, Jehlum, F&#299rozpur, Jalandhar and Hoshi&#257rpur. The annual meeting of the League was held generally during the Dussehr&#257 holidays.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In espousing Sikh interests, the Central Sikh League sought adequate representation for the community in the Punjab Legislative Council, removal of restrictions on the carrying by Sikhs of <i>kirp&#257n</i>, one of their religious symbols, and reform of Sikh places of worship. The League maintained a close liaison with the Indian National Congress. At the second session of the Central Sikh League, B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh, in his presidential address, exhorted the Sikhs to participate in national politics. At this session, the League passed a resolution supporting the non-cooperation movement of the Indian National Congress. Like the Congress and the Central <u>Kh</u>il&#257fat Committee, the Sikh League also started enlisting volunteers to carry on the fight for <i>svar&#257j</i>. It issued a manifesto and asked for 10, 000 Sikh volunteers to come forward and join the national movement. At the same time the League, with a view to stressing Sikh identity, insisted that the Congress include in the national flag it was designing a strip in yellow, the colour of the Sikhs.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The League supported the struggle for <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> reform and appointed an enquiry committee to investigate the Nank&#257&#7751&#257 tragedy in which about 150 reformist Sikhs were mercilessly butchered by the priest's hired killers. Similarly when the government took over the keys of the Golden Temple <i>tosh&#257<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257</i>, the League called a series of protest meetings. When Ripudaman Si&#7749gh the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 of N&#257bh&#257, relinquished in 1923 the <i>gadd&#299</i>, his royal seat, the Central Sikh League convened a special meeting to protest against what was described as undue pressure brought upon him by the British Government.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Central Sikh League showed concern about the communal sentiment penetrating into Indian body politic. It favoured the complete abolition of communal representation in legislatures, but reiterated at the same time in its resolution of 10 October 1927 that, in case it was retained, the Sikhs must be given 30 per cent share in the Punjab legislative seats.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Sikh League participated in the all-parties conference convened by the Congress in Delhi in February 1928 to work out a constitution which would be acceptable to various interests. It sent a delegation consisting of B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh, Sard&#257r Bah&#257dur Meht&#257b Si&#7749gh, Master T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299 Sher Si&#7749gh, Amar Si&#7749gh Jhab&#257l and Ma&#7749gal Si&#7749gh to take part in the conference. Ma&#7749gal Si&#7749gh was appointed a member of the committee constituted under the chairmanship of Mot&#299l&#257l Nehr&#363 which prepared an exhaustive scheme which was published in August 1928 and came to be known as the Nehr&#363 Report. The Report was however strongly opposed by the Central Sikh League, because, as B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh said in his presidential address given extempore at the annual session of the Sikh League at Gujr&#257&#7749w&#257l&#257 on 22 October 1928, it had sinned against the self-respect and dignity of India by limiting the national objective to Dominion Status instead of demanding <i>p&#363r&#7751a</i> (<i>p&#363r&#7751a</i> = complete) <i>svar&#257j</i>, complete autonomy. The second point of criticism was that the Nehr&#363 Report had laid the foundation of communalism by accepting separate electorates. The League advocated a system of joint electorate with plural constituencies adding that, if community-wise representation became inevitable, the Sikhs should have at least 30 per cent of the seats in the Punjab legislature and the same proportion of the representation from the Punjab to the Central legislature.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The temper against the Nehr&#363 Report was so high that in the annual meeting of the Central Sikh League in October 1929, B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh even proposed boycotting the forthcoming Congress session to be held in Lahore. But Master T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, the then president of the Central Sikh League, was not in favour of this. In the meantime, Mah&#257tm&#257 G&#257ndh&#299 and other Congress leaders also urged the League not to dissociate itself from the Congress session. The problem was resolved when the Congress working committee at Lahore decided to drop the Nehr&#363 Report. The Congress also adopted a motion assuring Sikhs and Muslims that no constitutional solution which did not satisfy them would be acceptable to it.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Central Sikh League took part in the Civil Disobedience movement launched by Mah&#257tm&#257 G&#257ndh&#299 on 6 March 1930. Master T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, while leading a batch of Ak&#257l&#299 volunteers to help the Pa&#7789h&#257n <i>satyagrah&#299s</i> at Pesh&#257war, was taken into custody. The League like the Congress also boycotted the first Round Table Conference convened in London with the object of obtaining the views of Indians on the future constitutional reforms but, after the Gandh&#299-Irwin Pact signed on 5 March 1931, it agreed to participate in the second Round Table Conference. It also presented a memorandum listing 17 demands of the Sikhs to Mah&#257tm&#257 G&#257ndh&#299 who was to represent the Congress at the Conference. These included the setting up of a national government in India, one third share for the Sikhs in the Punjab cabinet and public service commission, joint electorates without reservation of seats and transfer of Muslim areas to the Frontier Province to bring about communal balance in the Punjab, five per cent share for the Sikhs in the Indian upper and lower houses, inclusion of at least one Sikh in the Central cabinet, and adoption of Punjabi as the official language of the province.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the scheme announced by the British government on 16 August 1932 which came to be known as the Communal Award, Sikhs were given only 18. 85 per cent representation in the Punjab legislature. The Sikh League lodged a strong protest. What especially irked it was the statutory majority assured the Muslims in the Punjab by giving them 50. 42 per cent seats. Anticipating the pronouncement, the Central Sikh League called a representative conclave of the Sikhs on 24 July 1932 at the <i>sam&#257dh</i> of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh in Lahore at which a 16-member council of action was formed to oppose the British proposals. This council of action set up a new organization, the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Darb&#257r, representing all sections of Sikh opinion, to lead the agitation against the Award. On 16 October 1933, a joint session of the Central Sikh League and the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Darb&#257r was held where after the former ceased to be a separate organization. With this ended the short, but lively and chequered, career of the Central Sikh League.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Tuteja, K. L. , <i>Sikh Politics</i>. Kurukshetra, 1979<BR> <li class="C1"> Gulati, K. C. , <i>The Akalis : Past and Present</i>. Delhi, 1974<BR> <li class="C1"> Teja Singh, <i>The Gurdwara Reform Movement and the Sikh Awakening</i>. Jalandhar, 1922<BR> <li class="C1"> N&#257har Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Az&#257d&#299 d&#299&#257&#7749 Lahir&#257&#7749</i>. Amritsar, 1960<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">K. L. &#7788u&#7789ej&#257<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>